Monday, July 20, 2009

Gableman Must Love Loopholes Now!

During what was one of the sleaziest campaigns for the state's high court, Michael Gableman repeatedly suggested that constitutional protections were mere "loopholes" designed to let the guilty go free. With all of the various complaints that have been filed against him, he surely has become a pretty big fan of what he would have called "loopholes" during his campaign.

One Wisconsin Now revealed last year that as a District Attorney he made what clearly appeared to be political fundraising calls from his office phone. We are not talking about just a few quick calls since the number was actually closer to 60 and was to a who's who list of GOP operatives and fundraisers. Furthermore the calls from his official phone were made just prior to a fundraiser that Gableman was helping organize for then-Governor Scott McCallum (the same guy that later appointed him out of nowhere to be a judge) . Anyone that looks at the timeline and the people that were called, can only come away with one answer about what he was doing.

As a result of this pretty clear violation, OWN asked multiple DA's to investigate but everyone passed the buck (including Sean Duffy who might take this decision as a green light to raise political funds on his own official phone). Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen's office then helped run out the clock for Gableman by also refusing to investigate the clear violations. As a result OWN was left with filing a complaint with the State Office of Lawyer Regulation.

Over the weekend we learned that those regulators had essentially come to the conclusion that they couldn't prove Gableman's intent, so they dismissed the case. This decision didn't vindicate him in any way, as they clearly noted his inappropriate actions. They simply didn't feel that they could prove his actual intent (they clearly underestimate their own abilities).

I don't know about you, but that sounds an awful lot like a giant loophole that Gableman just skated through. I wonder how much he dislikes loopholes now?

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About Me

I started Eye on Wisconsin in 2004 before becoming the blog editor/research director for One Wisconsin Now (2006-2008). Now I operate a research firm & detective agency. I work for progressive candidates, orgs, and individuals. I also conduct investigations for law firms and businesses.